Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) meant to improve health and raise revenue are being adopted, yet evaluation is scarce. This study examines the association of the first penny per ounce SSB excise tax in the United States, in Berkeley, California, with beverage prices, sales, store revenue/consumer spending, and usual beverage intake.

23

Domestic public debate continues over the economic impacts of environmental regulations that require environmental restoration. This debate has occurred in the absence of broad-scale empirical research on economic output and employment resulting from environmental restoration, restoration-related conservation, and mitigation actions - the activities that are part of what we term the “restoration economy.” In this article, we provide a high-level accounting of the size and scope of the restoration economy in terms of employment, value added, and overall economic output on a national scale. We conducted a national survey of businesses that participate in restoration work in order to estimate the total sales and number of jobs directly associated with the restoration economy, and to provide a profile of this nascent sector in terms of type of restoration work, industrial classification, workforce needs, and growth potential. We use survey results as inputs into a national input-output model (IMPLAN 3.1) in order to estimate the indirect and induced economic impacts of restoration activities. Based on this analysis we conclude that the domestic ecological restoration sector directly employs ~ 126,000 workers and generates ~ $9.5 billion in economic output (sales) annually. This activity supports an additional 95,000 jobs and $15 billion in economic output through indirect (business-to-business) linkages and increased household spending.

20

In 2013 health spending growth is expected to have remained slow, at 3.6 percent, as a result of the sluggish economic recovery, the effects of sequestration, and continued increases in private health insurance cost-sharing requirements. The combined effects of the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions, faster economic growth, and population aging are expected to fuel health spending growth this year and thereafter (5.6 percent in 2014 and 6.0 percent per year for 2015-23). However, the average rate of increase through 2023 is projected to be slower than the 7.2 percent average growth experienced during 1990-2008. Because health spending is projected to grow 1.1 percentage points faster than the average economic growth during 2013-23, the health share of the gross domestic product is expected to rise from 17.2 percent in 2012 to 19.3 percent in 2023.

16

Health spending growth through 2013 is expected to remain slow because of the sluggish economic recovery, continued increases in cost-sharing requirements for the privately insured, and slow growth for public programs. These factors lead to projected growth rates of near 4 percent through 2013. However, improving economic conditions, combined with the coverage expansions in the Affordable Care Act and the aging of the population, drive faster projected growth in health spending in 2014 and beyond. Expected growth for 2014 is 6.1 percent, with an average projected growth of 6.2 percent per year thereafter. Over the 2012-22 period, national health spending is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent. By 2022 health spending financed by federal, state, and local governments is projected to account for 49 percent of national health spending and to reach a total of $2.4 trillion.

Although there is a large and growing body of evidence concerning the impact of contracting economies on suicide mortality risk, far less is known about the role alcohol consumption plays in the complex relationship between economic conditions and suicide. The aims were to compare the postmortem alcohol intoxication rates among male and female suicide decedents before (2005-2007), during (2008-2009) and after (2010-2011) the economic contraction in the USA.

0

Resource productivity and evidence of economic decoupling were investigated based on the time series 1996-2011 of Material Flow Analysis for Sweden, Stockholm and Gothenburg. In the 3 cases, absolute reductions in CO2 emissions by about 20% were observed, energy consumption per capita decreased while GDP per capita grew. The energy consumption of the residential and public sectors decreased drastically, while transport energy consumption is still growing steadily. Decoupling of the economy as a whole (i.e. including materials) is not yet happening at any scale. The Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) continues to increase, in parallel with the GDP. The rate of increase for DMC is slower than that for GDP in both Stockholm and Sweden as a whole (i.e. relative decoupling). The metabolism of the cities does not replicate the national metabolism and the two cities each have their own distinct metabolism profiles. As a consequence, policy implications for each of the case studies were suggested. In general, due to the necessarily different roles of the two cities in the national economy, generic resource productivity benchmarks, such as CO2 per capita, should be avoided in favor of sectorial benchmarks, such as industry, transport or residential CO2 per capita. In addition, the share of the city impacts caused by the provision of a service for the rest of the country, such as a port, could be allocated to the national economy.

0

HIV infection poses a serious threat to the economy of a household. Out of pocket (OOP) health spending can be prohibitive and can drag households below poverty level. Based on the data collected from a cross-sectional survey of 401 households with HIV+ members in Pune city, India, this paper examines the consumption levels and patterns among households, and comments on the economic impoverishment resulting from OOP medical spending. Analysis reveals that households with HIV members spend a major portion of their monthly consumption expenditure on food items. Medical expenditure constitutes a large portion of their total consumption spending. Expenditure on children’s education constitutes a minor proportion of total monthly spending. A high proportion of medical expenditure has a bearing on the economic condition of households with HIV members. Poverty increases by 20% among the studied HIV households when OOP health spending is adjusted. It increases 18% among male-headed households and 26% among female-headed households. The results reiterate the need of greater support from the government in terms of accessibility and affordability of health care to save households with HIV members from economic catastrophe.

The economic situation showed that the resources devoted to health spending are limited, making rationalisation of their consumption necessary. The relevance of pharmacoeconomic analyses is becoming crucial. The ECO Foundation, promoting the quality of oncology care, set out to analyse the consensus on the new therapeutic targets inclusion and the integration of pharmacoeconomics when evaluating their effectiveness.

0

Input-output analysis has been proven to be a powerful instrument for estimating embodied (direct plus indirect) energy usage through economic sectors. Using 9 economic input-output tables of years 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2007, this paper analyzes energy flows for the entire city of Beijing and its 30 economic sectors, respectively. Results show that the embodied energy consumption of Beijing increased from 38.85 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) to 206.2 Mtce over the past twenty years of rapid urbanization; the share of indirect energy consumption in total energy consumption increased from 48% to 76%, suggesting the transition of Beijing from a production-based and manufacturing-dominated economy to a consumption-based and service-dominated economy. Real estate development has shown to be a major driving factor of the growth in indirect energy consumption. The boom and bust of construction activities have been strongly correlated with the increase and decrease of system-side indirect energy consumption. Traditional heavy industries remain the most energy-intensive sectors in the economy. However, the transportation and service sectors have contributed most to the rapid increase in overall energy consumption. The analyses in this paper demonstrate that a system-wide approach such as that based on input-output model can be a useful tool for robust energy policy making.

0

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that U.S. water withdrawals have been steady since 1980, but the population and economy have grown since then. This implies that other factors have contributed to offsetting decreases in water withdrawals. Using water withdrawals data from USGS and economic data from Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), direct and total water withdrawals were estimated for the 134 industrial summary sectors in the 1997 U.S. economic input-output (EIO) table and 136 industrial sectors in the 2002 EIO table. Using structural decomposition analysis (SDA), the change in water withdrawals for the economy from 1997 to 2002 was allocated to changes in population, GDP per capita, water use intensity, production structure, and consumption patterns. The changes in population, GDP per capita and water use intensity led to increased water withdrawals, while the changes in production structure and consumption patterns decreased water withdrawals from 1997 to 2002. Consumption patterns change was the largest net contributor to the change in water withdrawals. The model was used to predict aggregate changes in total water withdrawals from 2002 to 2010 due to known changes in population and GDP per capita; a more complete model assessment must await release of updated data on USGS water withdrawals and EIO data.